Ivan Koloff
Jan. 18, 1971 - Feb. 8, 1971
Managed by Captain Lou Albano, the “Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff got a shot at Bruno Sammartino’s WWE Championship at Madison Square Garden, the same place that Sammartino won the title almost eight years prior. Both Superstars were masters of the bearhug, but it was a knee drop from the top rope that gave Koloff the win. Although Koloff dethroned a champion that had held the Championship for nearly eight years, he would not be so lucky. Koloff’s reign only lasted about three weeks.
